


Stumble

by BlanketKingKai



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU?, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Depression, Domestic, Fluff, Kakashi's depressed, M/M, Mental Illness, Mentions of Suicide, Romance, Slow Burn, Touchstone - Freeform, Will add more tags as we go, technically a mission? maybe?, tsunade meddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:23:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16312088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlanketKingKai/pseuds/BlanketKingKai
Summary: Kakashi is depressed, lonely, cynical, questioning his importance to Konohagakure, and multiple other things that go with being the village’s perfect soldier. Tsunade finds out about it and tries to find a good person to help him get out of his depression, so she sets him up with Iruka and things go from there.-Set in Shippuden and Sasuke has been brought back-





	1. Snow White Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration for Chapter: Snow White Queen-Evanescence

 

The man stumbled through the halls, his chin to his chest and his clothes torn and covered in blood and dirt. He passed no one in the building. After all, it was 4:00 am and the only people who would be out were the jonin just getting off guard duty. The man’s hair caught the dim lighting of the building and, despite being matted with blood and dirt, the casual observer still would know how light his hair was supposed to be. His feet came to a stop in front of a plain, brown door and one of his hands shakily came to rest on the cheap brass doorknob. Opening it cost monumental effort, almost more energy than he had to spare.

Kakashi tripped over the threshold and into the black, shabby apartment. He slumped against the door behind him and he tried to lift his shirt over his head. Hissed. Blood had dried onto the shirt, connecting the dirty cloth to the wounds beneath it. Well, that wouldn’t work. Apart from it being gelled to his wounds, Kakashi wasn’t that attached to it. Kunai would work. He cut himself free and dropped the bloody rags to the floor, breathed as his vision went grey around the edges. Blood loss. Next came the pants. More heavy breathing, more grey; oh well. He continued his attempt at walking toward the small bathroom across the room, leaving a trail of bloody rags behind him.

When he arrived at the bathroom door, he had divested himself of all clothing and was barely standing. Sitting seemed like a better idea. Soon the man was at the shower, on hands and knees, testing the water. He let out a hiss as he crawled under the spray, the heated liquid burned the raw edges of his wounds. Watching the pink and brown run down the drain seemed morbidly amusing. Knowing what people would think of the Great Sharingan Kakashi on hands and knees after a mission actually elicited a snort. Fuck, he was pathetic.

Propped against the shower wall, Kakashi tilted his head back, letting the warmth run through his hair, feeling the filth run out. It was disgusting and surprisingly satisfying. Time lost all meaning while Kakashi watched the blood run down the drain. The hot water relaxed his muscles even as it burned his wounds, most of which were deep and probably infected. At some point, his body must have taken over because when he next came to himself, he was clean and the water was cooling.

He got out of the shower to see a dog sitting near the partially open door.

“Boss, if I can sneak up on you that easily you are either exhausted or working yourself too hard,” Pakkun grumbled, sounding mostly annoyed, but Kakashi knew he cared. Pack was pack.

“I really don’t care at this point, Pakkun,” Kakashi rasped.

“You need rest, ‘s all; you’ll care in the morning.”

“Go away, Pakkun, unless you have suddenly grown opposable thumbs and can help me bandage myself up.”

The pug sighed and stared in that way dogs had to make you feel guilty about breathing angrily at them. “Kakashi, pack’s here, and we’re not going anywhere until you’re back at your usual strength. You will have very little bed space tonight.”

Clicking claws and playful growls reached his ears, and Kakashi’s lips curved into a bitter sort of a smile. Dogs were nothing if not loyal, even when he felt he didn’t deserve it. Kakashi shut off the cooling water and began to gather the materials needed for cleaning and bandaging his wounds from the First Aid kit under his bathroom vanity. Time soon found him sitting at his dining room table struggling to wrap the bandages around his torso. Things were not going well. Kakashi was tired, hurting and out of patience with the world. Finally, he just had to call it good enough, and threw the bandage roll down in disgust. The job wasn’t perfect, but it would hold through the night or until he could find the strength to make it to the hospital for proper healing.

Kakashi stood on wobbly legs and made his way slowly to his bed. Looking down at his feet, he couldn’t help but feel they weren’t his own. Exhaustion and blood loss did funny things to a person’s head. His pack followed automatically, the largest of them all, Bull, moving forward to assist the human should he fall. They soon found themselves fighting for space on the double bed that took up most of the room. Kakashi was unconscious before his head hit he pillow.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

“…Kakashi,” a female voice called out, accompanied by a shaking that made all his aches and pains come roaring to the forefront. Some dog trampled his legs, another nosed Kakashi’s right hand. None of them were attacking, so it was safe. Bull licked Kakashi’s face. He just wanted to fall back asleep, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen now. “Kakashi wake up. Honestly, what the hell were you thinking not going to the hospital right away. I have better things to do than make house calls.”

Kakashi groaned. He really didn’t give a damn, and he was about to say so when he realized that he really didn’t have the energy to talk. He opted for ignoring her voice to the best of his ability. It didn’t work; she just kept shaking him.

Kakashi finally opened his eyes, but only so that he could glare at the woman at his bedside. What a surprise. Tsunade herself.

“What’re ya doin’ere?” he slurred out. His lips felt like they were too thick, and his tongue was uncooperative. He should have gotten water before he collapsed.

“The guards told me you came back at about 3:45 this morning and they recommended you head to the hospital. Given that you never made it to the hospital, I came to make sure you were alive. You are such an idiot. Now sit up, brat, and let me have a look at you,” the Hokage bullied Kakashi into something approximating upright.

It was only when the black spots cleared that Kakashi realized that he was very much naked, as he hadn’t taken the time to put on clothes on the night before. He also hadn’t expected anyone to come looking for him, especially not the Hokage. Naruto maybe, but that was about it. He thought he should probably be embarrassed but couldn’t dredge up the energy. Sharp pain made the black spots come back. She was poking at the bandages. Rude.

“Well, it ain’t pretty, but you did a good job of making sure they’d hold,” Tsunade murmured.

The man didn’t know whether or not to be insulted. Once again, he had no energy for caring and attempted to return to unconsciousness while the Hokage saw to his wounds. It didn’t work out so well. The healing energy made his skin crawl and his nerves tingle where tissue squelched back together. Chakra healing was uncomfortable at the best of times, but today, it was just this side of agony. Tsunade kept smacking him for squirming, but it didn’t help him sit any better. He was too tired to worry about appearances. She healed almost everything. There were bruises and strained muscles that she cursed him about but didn’t touch with chakra. Those could heal well enough on their own with rest and time. Kakashi heard a snort to his left, turned his head and saw Pakkun sitting at the forefront of the pack. Kakashi glared. The dog was looking entirely too smug and Kakashi contemplated murder.

Was it murder if the victim wasn’t human?

“Are you even listening?”

Kakashi blinked and looked over at Tsunade. “Mmmmm, no.”

Tsunade glared. “I said that you’re not allowed to die on us. Sasuke came out of his coma this morning and he’ll need you.”

Kakashi stared at her for a full minute while Tsunade gathered up her gear. Why would Sasuke need him? No one did.

“Is he okay?”

“Disoriented. Doesn’t seem to know where he is yet, but he’s been in a coma. That’s normal. You should visit him,” Tsunade glanced around the room one last time, saw she had all her things, and left the room quietly, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts. Not even a goodbye. Politicians, Kakashi rolled his eyes.

“Well, boss, you heard her. Get some sleep,” Pakkun lead the dogs back to the bed and they reclaimed their places. “If you don’t, I’ll get that snake woman downstairs to knock you out.”

Kakashi glared at the pug. “You wouldn’t… I think the point of getting me to sleep is to heal me, not to cause more injury.”

The dog shrugged to the best of his ability. “Then go to sleep.”

Kakashi reluctantly did as he was told; Anko was famous for her left hook. Despite how fast his mind was working, sleep came easily.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

The sun was shining brightly into the window without any drapes, cheerfully ignorant of Kakashi’s fervent wish that it would disappear for another day or so. The sun continued to shine through the window and the ninja groaned and rolled over, trying to block the light from his eyes. It didn’t work. Now he was awake and nothing in the world would be able to get him back to sleep until dark. Unless he was drugged. That could be nice, he supposed. It had been awhile since he’d been drugged for any reason. Dismissing the thought, Kakashi opened his eyes and stared at the wall for a good ten minutes before he realized that he was indeed staring at the wall, which was winning the staring contest, and that his body was screaming for sustenance.

It took an additional 10 minutes before he found it in himself to crawl out of bed and go and raid the tiny kitchenette for anything remotely resembling food. After being out of his apartment for so long, the only things he was likely to have were instant noodles, ration bars or something that had once been food and was now in such a state of moldiness that most people wouldn’t consider touching it. That may have been a tomato, and the drawer had had eggplant in it before he’d left. Kakashi closed the fridge without removing anything from it. He’d deal with it later. After going through all 4 of his cupboards, he was forced to settle on an instant ramen cup and some frozen fruits found at the back of his freezer. The fruit would have tasted better if it were fresh, and the ramen would have tasted better if it were not shrimp, but food was food.

During his search, Kakashi had also come across about half a dozen cartons of black tea, three cartons of orange tea, two and a half cartons of green tea, one carton of chai and half a carton of vanilla. Seeing as he had such an assortment of teas, he decided he’d try them all at least once. Kakashi couldn’t remember buying any of this stuff, but, well, someone had, and he wasn’t complaining. Coffee pot was broken, so this would have to do.

It was only after the first sip of his black tea that he remembered why he was a coffee person. Tea, no matter the variety, was watery and would never get to the point Kakashi liked his coffee. Strong enough to stand a spoon in. He could still see the bottom of his mug, which never happened with coffee. Kakashi sighed and decided to go look for his book, which was probably somewhere in his gear scattered around the place, mixed in with now stiff bloody rags. Someone should probably clean that up. Knowing that someone would have to be him, he hobbled stiffly around and soon everything was where it should be.

Once he had found the book, he collapsed on the old, worn, ugly, napping couch that took up one whole wall length. The book in his hand was falling apart, but he really didn’t care, nor did he have enough motivation to go off and buy himself a new one. His students would kill him if he did anyway. They were always on him about his reading material. Hell, everybody was.

Pakkun came and settled itself on Kakashi’s stomach and effectively got Kakashi’s attention.

“Kakashi,” the small dog began, “you need rest if you’re going to be of any use to your students.”

“My students will be fine without me. They were before they met me,” Kakashi replied before taking a sip of the watery tea. “Probably better off, actually.”

The pug sighed. “Kakashi, the angry pup is going to need you. You heard the Hokage. You were there when we found him. He trusts you.”

Now Kakashi sighed. Trust. Loyalty. Pakkun knew how to play him, and Kakashi let him. “If you really want me to get some sleep, get everyone off of my bed. They haven’t listened to me concerning my bed space since they were pups.”

“Fine.”

Soon the dogs were off of the bed and Kakashi was laying in it, staring at the ceiling, which was cheating just as much as the wall had been that morning. Silence permeated the air and the sun continued to shine through the window without any drapes. Kakashi turned his head and stared out the window at the sun shining brightly, happily, obliviously, and he just wished it would rain. He wished that for once the weather would reflect just how he was feeling inside. He wished that people would stop expecting so much from him; he was only human. He wished his sensei and his teammates were here with him, like they would have been had they been alive. He wished that his father hadn’t committed suicide and that his mother was still alive running the family shop.

Kakashi wished for a lot of things, but he never got any of them, so instead of wishing further on stars that didn’t hear him and asking the help of gods that had decided that they hated him, he resigned himself to lay in bed, in the silence, staring at the ceiling that cheated in an unfair staring contest with the sun shining brightly through the window with no drapes while people throughout the village went on with their lives, oblivious to the depression of Konoha’s greatest shinobi.


	2. Light Up the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration: Light Up the Sky-Yellowcard

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Smack.

Iruka smacked around his night stand until the noise stopped. He sighed and dropped his arm back down to the bed. Many blissful minutes of silence followed, and the school teacher managed to drop back in to a doze. Mornings sucked ass. When Iruka finally opened his eyes, it was to the siren of the most annoying alarm clock sound in the history of annoying alarm clock sounds telling him his snooze was over. The steady BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…of the machine was not what put him in his bad mood today, however. The weekend was over and he had to go back to a classroom of children with sharp, pointy objects. He loved the kids and all, but who’s idea was it to give a classroom full of 5-7-year-olds kunai anyway? Just because he loved them did not mean he always liked them.

Iruka found it in himself to get out of the warm bed on a wonderful Monday morning and he soon found himself going through his usual morning routine. Naruto had always thought that he was too much in a rut and would always try to find a way to mix it up in the morning. Iruka loved Naruto, but he needed his morning routine so that he didn’t commit homicide, so he went through it without any thought at all; get out of bed, turn on the coffee pot, pick out clothes, get in the shower, get dressed, get breakfast, pack lunch and drink coffee, brush teeth, go through lesson plan, grab graded papers, leave for the Academy.

Soon Iruka found himself sitting in the teachers’ lounge with 30 minutes until his class started. The lounge was basically a room where the teachers escaped the children and their many pointy objects that they were supposed to be training to use. The table that Iruka was finishing up his grading work on was on its last legs, the sofa had probably been in the same room in the same spot since the founding of the village and the coffee pot could probably stand to be updated. When a machine takes an hour to brew 12 cups, even with frequent cleaning, everyone knows it’s old. The back of the door was littered with dents and pockmarks from the multiple knives that had missed the cardboard target, which was in the same shape as the table and sofa. Despite all of the problems the teachers faced with furniture and the coffeepot, they still found time in their busy day to hide in the room.

Currently, the room was mostly empty, one other teacher in the corner by the sink, muttering to herself. Not many teachers were at the Academy as early as Iruka was, but not many teachers had the classes the Iruka had. If Iruka wasn’t there and the students were, they took it upon themselves to topple over desks and write on the walls or try to pull pranks on their sensei. He had been late once and that was all it took for him to never be late again. Thankfully, the teacher that was there wasn’t the talkative type otherwise he’d never get the rest of his work done. Iruka didn’t really like to talk in the morning.

Iruka soon finished his grading and was gathering up his stuff to head to his classroom. The earliest students would be arriving soon and he was NOT leaving them in a room alone. Ever. Not even if it was for a survival-training lesson. He entered the room and found it, to his relief, completely empty, but just to be sure, he did a thorough check to make sure the coast was actually clear. He had done it all when he was younger and he wasn’t going to take any chances. The room was clear and the first student to arrive entered the room and took his seat. He was a quiet child, and he always had his book with him, new one every day. Today’s appeared to be something about dragons; Iruka left him to it. The rest of the class entered the room in groups of twos and threes.

The last student to arrive was Konohamaru, and he arrived about 10 minutes after class had begun.

“Konohamaru, you’re late. Detention,” Iruka then went back to his lesson as though the boy hadn’t interrupted.

Meanwhile, Konohamaru sputtered about how unfair it was to have to stay after school for being late for school, which wasn’t his fault. Iruka kindly tuned it out and got the boy to shut up by throwing a blunt practice kunai at him. Then he went on with his lesson as if nothing ever happened…again. He was getting better at ignoring odd happenings.

“Ok, there is an essay, due next Friday on the differences between genjustu and ninjustu. I don’t want a bunch of papers…” the class followed this explanation with less than enthusiastic noises and faces. Iruka swallowed his smile down and managed to keep a professional face at the display. Their sensei just loved torturing them.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Iruka toed his sandals off wearily, closing his door behind him. It had been a long day. Children had been throwing kunai outside of practice, and Konohamaru and his gang had tried to pull multiple pranks on him, which were more annoying than anything else. The more they tried to get out of detention the longer they had to stay after school, which was unfortunate. More of a punishment for Iruka than for the kids, he thought. Coming home was honestly the best thing that could happen to Iruka right now. The dark-haired man went about his house looking for places to put things temporarily until he could organize his thoughts better. Right now he just needed some soothing vanilla tea and a long, hot shower.

Iruka went to his kitchen and began boiling water. He hated Mondays with a passion. The beginning of the week was always a pain in the ass because everyone had to get back into the routine that could be abandoned on weekends. Being a teacher, however, usually meant spending weekends cooped up in one’s house or apartment, respectively, and grading the papers of the children that could care less about their ninja training academy lessons. All that they really cared for was the weapons practice on Wednesdays and Fridays after lunch. Oddly enough, Iruka preferred Wednesdays and Fridays to Mondays.

The kettle whistled sharply and Iruka pulled himself out of his thoughts and back to the present. He still had things to do - tea to drink, dinner to cook, a shower to take and papers to grade. He wasn’t really looking forward to the grading, really wanting to curl up on the couch with some mindless television program on, but he loved teaching, so it was a small price to pay.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Three hours into the grading process and he was almost done. Iruka was feeling the ‘almost done antsiness’ that usually took over when he had three more poorly written papers to go. Iruka just couldn’t wait to go to bed.

But, alas, just when he thought that he could crawl beneath his blankets for a good nights’ rest before he had to go a room full of screaming children…again, there was a knock at his door. Iruka sighed and stood to answer it. It was late, so it had to be important. He never had visitors so late on week nights; his friends knew better.

“L-l-lady Tsunade?” Iruka stammered, shocked. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, Iruka-sensei. I apologize for the hour. May I come in or are ya just gonna stand there gaping like a fish?” Tsunade asked as politely as she could manage. It was 10 PM after all.

“Oh, yes, sorry Lady Hokage,” Iruka shuffled as quickly as humanly possible out of the doorway. Iruka led Tsunade to the living room where he had been grading papers and cleared a spot on the couch. “Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Food?”

“No, thank you, Iruka-sensei. I’m hoping to keep this visit as short as possible,” Tsunade said around a poorly concealed yawn as she sat in the recently cleared space.

“Yes, of course, Hokage-sama. Is there anything in particular that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. It’s about Hatake Kakashi.”

Iruka blinked. Of all the things to come out of her mouth, that had been the least expected. “Kakashi-sensei? What does he have to do with me?”

“I would like you to keep an eye on him for a while. He’s … not doing well. I don’t want him doing something stupid. Naruto and Sakura speak highly of you, and Naruto especially recommended you for this, and I happen to agree with them.”

Iruka blinked. “Naruto recommended me? He knows Kakashi-sensei and I don’t get along.”

“I think that he may be hoping that the two of you will learn to tolerate each other, at least, so that he doesn’t have to feel awkward when the two of you are in a room together.”

Considering things from that perspective, Iruka could understand. Iruka and Kakashi were the two closest things to parents that Naruto had ever known. If Iruka’s own precious people didn’t get along, he’d want to try to at least get them to be civil. Then the rest of the words caught up to him.

“Wait, what? You want me to… what? Babysit a jonin?” Iruka could think of so many more people qualified to do this job better than Iruka ever could. Did Konoha not have a psych unit for those jonin thought to be particularly unstable?

“After a fashion…”

“Why not send him to psych?” Iruka finally realized he was standing in front of the Hokage with an armful of homework and lesson plans and turned to put them on the dining room table. “I’m just a school teacher, ma’am.”

Tsunade’s whiskey-brown eyes regarded Iruka steadily for several tense moments before she spoke again. “Kakashi is a diagnosed slitherer outer. If I tell him to go to psych, he won’t show up for appointments, or he’ll sit in silence for the session. He doesn’t talk to people he doesn’t know, and he knows you.”

“Not well, Tsunade-sama. We only share students.” Iruka sank down into the armchair across from the Hokage, not caring about the crinkling papers under him.

“Not just any students, Iruka-sensei. One of them is practically your son.” She paused, letting the weight of that sink in. “That fact lends more weight to anything you have to say than any words a professional might.”

Iruka stared in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

Tsunade seemed to sense his hesitations. “If you accept the mission, I’ll personally arrange for a substitute to take your shift. You wouldn’t be teaching at the Academy for a few weeks. Given Kakashi’s mental state, I’d want you to either move into his apartment temporarily or him here,” Tsunade explained quickly but thoroughly.

“How bad is his mental state? You haven’t said…”

“Definitely depressed, possibly suicidal. He’s come home from his last three missions barely standing and heavily injured, but every time he’s refused medical care. If he’s not going to take matters into his own hands, he’s looking for death at the hands of his enemies.”

“What mission level? Pay? I still have a mortgage, Hokage-sama.”

“A-Rank. You will most certainly be paid, sensei. We wouldn’t leave you destitute.”

“I do appreciate that, but what exactly is the objective? Keep Kakashi-sensei from committing suicide?”

“Partially that, but I’m hoping you can manage to get him to care about things. Not entirely, I don’t expect a miracle cure, but I’m hoping that having someone around will help remind him there are people out there that care.” Then more quietly, she said, “He’s not been to see Sasuke yet, despite being the one who found him, and Sakura’s not seen him in months.”

Iruka sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, thought the mission through. He could certainly do it – how hard could one slightly unhinged jonin be compared to 20 pre-genin? –  and he’d get away from the noisy classroom. He needed a vacation, but was dealing with a depressed Kakashi-sensei really a vacation or a curse? Sure, he was an asshole, read porn in public and had a reputation for irreverence, but it had to be easier than dealing with children. Adults didn’t need everything to be explained to them and they didn’t need a reminder when to eat lunch, or a bathroom break, or to run laps when they tried to throw kunai at their teacher. Dealing with Kakashi would be tough, but it was more appealing that the children right now.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Iruka broke the silence that had stretched, long and thick, between the Hokage and the Chunnin.

“Good. I knew you would. I’ll send for your substitute while you get ready for meeting with Kakashi tomorrow. You’re going to decide how this is going to work,” Tsunade stood and straightened her green gambling den coat. “I’ll be expecting weekly reports on his progress, Iruka-sensei, so I’ll talk to you then. Hopefully, at some point soon, we can get you back to your regularly scheduled life.”

Then she was gone and Iruka was left alone with his thoughts. He leaned back into the chair and ran both hands over his face. What the actual fuck? A-Rank. He’d been on two A’s in his short fieldwork career, and he hadn’t enjoyed either of them. He knew Kakashi was S-Ranked in the Bingo Books; why wasn’t it an S mission? Would anything Iruka said get through to the stubborn man? He wasn’t a counselor, didn’t have any special merits to recommend him to this work; all he had was a knack for dealing with unruly children and a stubborn streak a mile wide. Iruka wasn’t sure how any of those would help, but the Hokage seemed to have some faith in his abilities.

Whatever the outcome of this would be, Iruka needed to worry about the practical aspects. The living situation would have to be the first thing considered. If Kakashi was going to be getting through depression, he might benefit from being in a familiar setting. On the other hand, the familiar setting might be the cause of, or a contributing factor to, the depression. As Iruka really didn’t know much about what was going on, he decided to go to bed and wait until tomorrow. He’d figure things out then.


	3. Part of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration: Part of Me- Linkin Park

Today was just going to start at shit and work its way down, wasn’t it? First, Kakashi had managed to burn the eggs he’d bummed off Gai for breakfast. He’d ended up feeding them to the dogs, who would eat basically anything. Second, there had been no coffee on account of the broken coffee machine, so he’d had tea. Not technically a big deal. He’d eaten the rat bars and had the tea and survived. Then, when he’d tried to shower, he’d discovered the hot water was out for the whole building, so he’d taken a quick cold one, and tumbled, shivering, into his bed; he’d survived worse. None of these things were that bad on their own, but combined, Kakashi almost considered crying. Almost.

No, the real topper was that Kakashi had just found out that the Hokage was assigning someone to babysit him. Bad enough to need a sitter – Kakashi had been taking care of himself since he was five, thanks – but did it have to be Iruka-sensei? Out of all the shinobi in the village, it had to be the one that he didn’t really get along with. Everyone and their dead relatives knew Kakashi and Iruka were always fighting. Why not ask Gai? The man lived in the same building, after all, and was over enough that people knew where to look if they couldn’t find him in his own apartment. The jonin had a sneaking suspicion that Hokage had a grudge against him. That could be the only reason that he had to live with the Chunnin, too. Why else would she make two grown-ass men with different lifestyles live together?

No, today was not shaping up to be a good day for Kakashi.

Good day or not, Kakashi had to get his shit together and go meet the man that would be living with him. They were meeting at some bakery or whatever on the other side of the village, closer to the Academy.

That only made sense, Kakashi supposed, looking at himself in the small bathroom mirror; Iruka worked and lived over that way. He ran damp hands through his hair, trying half-heartedly to make his hair presentable, but it was a losing battle. Without his hitai-ate to hold it, his hair flopped down into his face in front, and then defied gravity on the top and back. Nothing he did made any noticeable difference… maybe he needed a haircut? Kakashi eventually let his hair be and picked up his tooth brush. Mask or not, he wasn’t going to make anyone, even his most hated enemy, suffer through his morning breath. Kakashi stuck his toothbrush in his mouth as he went through his apartment to find clothes.

Most of his things were dirty, and all he managed to turn up was a faded Shuriken Force t-shirt and a standard pair of jonin blues. Basically civvies, but it would have to do. The idea of putting on anything dirty turned his stomach. The t-shirt material felt thin between his fingers, but it was so soft. Staring at it was getting him nowhere. With a mental shake, Kakashi dragged the shirt over his head, making his hair fluff up again, but it was whatever. Pants next. Belt, where was his – Oh, there. He wasn’t technically in uniform, so he decided to forgo the calf bandaging and to leave his weapons pouch here. With his wallet in his pocket and a few knives and some chakra wire hidden strategically about his person, he figured he was as ready as he could ever be for something he didn’t want to do. Kakashi stomped into his scuffed boots and left his apartment.

The weather that day was beautiful; the birds were singing; the sun was shining; there was a slight breeze to lessen the harsh sun’s rays. Children ran through the streets. Adults bargained in the open market and at the kiosks dotting the route from Kakashi’s apartment to the appointed meeting spot. Kakashi did his very best to appear unapproachable. Whether it was his hard-grey eye, the set of his shoulders or the presence of his Icha Icha book, no one bothered him.

Kakashi could feel their eyes on him, though – the offended mothers, the curious children, the knowing shinobi. Some of the older people, he knew, glared at him. Mothers quickly changed route, removing their children from his path, lest the kids realize what he was reading. Kakashi smirked to himself. Sometimes he wondered if they realized that if they asked, he’d put the book away. Today, though, as far as distractions went, his book was the only thing he had with him to take his mind off the upcoming meeting.

Then he was there. Kakashi breathed out slowly and carefully put his book into his back pocket as he pushed open the door of the appointed bakery. Would you look at that? He was technically early. This fact alone would give an average man a heart attack, but if they knew the reasons behind this freak occurrence, they would probably die of laughter. The Hokage had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn’t show and Iruka wasn’t the nicest person when he was left waiting for more than an hour. Thank you Naruto for your vast knowledge of the man he was going to meet.

Kakashi moved through the shop’s dining area to the table that held the man that he was being chained to, figuratively speaking.

“Hello,” Iruka said brightly. The man had a smile on his face and it seemed genuine, but Kakashi had learned to stop trusting a smile. All the people that had smiled at him like that had died. Well, except for Gai, but, as a force of nature, he didn’t count. It led to a lot of misunderstandings with potential friends and made more enemies than he cared to count. That was one of the many reasons for his current lack of social graces.

“Yo.” Kakashi snapped a two finger-wave and took his place opposite the Chunnin in the booth. He hadn’t made eye contact yet, couldn’t make himself.

“You’re actually on time,” Iruka drawled, and Kakashi was glad for his mask. Something about the way Iruka had said it made Kakashi feel 4. Teachers. “Where do you want to live, my apartment or yours? I don’t care either way, and this is kinda about you.”

That made Kakashi finally meet Iruka’s eyes. “Just jump right in there, sensei.” When in doubt, fall back to basics: tactful insubordination.

“We both know why we’re here. I figured we’d get right to it so we can spend the rest of the day at home ignoring each other.”

“If you want to be able to properly ignore me while in the same house, we’d better do your place, then. Mine’s one room and a bathroom. Not much space,” Kakashi pushed himself back in his chair and made himself lean as though he were relaxed. This topic was not relaxing. Tsunade had made this seem like a choice, but it really wasn’t. There was no way he and another person could comfortably live in standard single jonin quarters, even if Kakashi always liked his roommate. The only option was Iruka’s because families needed more than one room they could fall over in.

Iruka just laughed and the waiter brought him his coffee. Oh good. Kakashi was glad to know he was being funny today.

Iruka took a sip of his still piping hot drink. Kakashi took that opportunity to order his own.

“Mine it is…”

Kakashi felt his lips draw into a line and dropped his gaze to the tabletop. Drummed his fingers against his thigh. Felt like he needed to nod. Iruka adjusted his legs’ positions, clicked nails against the ceramic mug. Someone laughed a few tables over. Bell over the door. Inhale.

 “Are your dogs going to be staying with us?”

Kakashi looked up from his intensive study of the knot just to the left and slightly in front of the salt shaker and blinked for a few minutes, processing the words. “No, they’re summons. They go back to their own plane, and only Pakkun can come back without being called.”

“Oh, well, that’s fine then.” Iruka seemed relieved. “I may have more than one room to my name, but I don’t think there’d be enough space for your whole pack. Not if they were there all the time, anyway. If you wanted to bring them out for company, you’d probably have to do it in shifts. I imagine they’re quite active.”

Then Iruka seemed to realize who he was talking to, and Kakashi could see the tension rising back through the chunnin’s body. That was too bad. For a second there, Iruka had actually seemed to like him, and wouldn’t that be just interesting.

“But, of course, they’re your dogs and I don’t really know your routine, or whatever,” Iruka finished and pressed his lips together, gaze wandering. For a split second, Kakashi had just thought embarrassment, but it really seemed like Iruka was distracted.

“Are you ok, Iruka-sensei?” Kakashi asked, more for politeness’ sake than for actually caring.

“Just worried about my students. I’ve never even taken a sick day much less a vacation,” the chocolate haired man gestured in the air when he said the word ‘vacation,’ “I’m not sure how my class will respond to having a substitute. Some of those kids need certain things that I worry they won’t get without me.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Tsunade wouldn’t draft just anybody to take your place. Even I know you teach the… precocious ones.”

Iruka snorted. “Precocious. That’s putting it mildly, Kakashi-sensei. You’ve met Naruto.”

“Once or twice,” Kakashi agreed.

Iruka snorted, and Kakashi caught the waiter coming with his order out of the corner of his eye. Finally. Something to do with his hands.

“When are you going to be moving your stuff to my house? I’m free for an indeterminate amount of time,” (until the mission was completed,) “and I don’t really care when you move our stuff in. It could be later today, for all I care,” Iruka said as the waiter left.

“Ok, tomorrow afternoon, then?” Kakashi asked easily.

Iruka squinted at Kakashi suspiciously.

Kakashi stared warily back. He honestly had no clue why Iruka was staring at him like that. “What?”

“You’re being entirely too agreeable about this. I was expecting you to be…”

Oh. Should have expected that.

“Angry, pissed, disgruntled, uncooperative; take your pick, I’ve got more,” Kakashi filled in the blank.

Iruka glared at Kakashi, who smiled innocently. “Yes, why are you being cooperative?”

“Because I can take out my frustration on a tree later, and the Hokage threatened me with bodily harm and four months of D-rank missions if I make you cry, so nice it is.”

“I hardly doubt that you could make me cry,” Iruka smirked at the man.

“You wanna bet?” Kakashi leaned forward slightly.

Iruka matched him and moved as if to speak, but was interrupted: “Hi, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto across the room to stand next to his teachers’ table.

“Hello, Naruto,” Iruka replied, leaning back into his chair. After a moment, Kakashi copied him. Iruka was smiling up at his former student. “What are you doing today?”

“I’m actually here to get Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke woke up for the first time yesterday morning and has been in and out of it for a bit, but like, 3 hours ago, apparently, he started asking for me and Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, so I’m coming to get you! Sakura’s already been and left.” Naruto smiled brightly.

“Oh, he is! I hadn’t heard yet. Do you think it would be alright if I dropped by tomorrow morning? Do you think he would mind?”

“I don’t know, Iruka-sensei. You’d probably have to ask his nurses what’s allowed. They didn’t want anyone going in at first. Granny Tsunade had to send Shizune down.”

“I’ll do that, then.”

Naruto smiled, but it was plain that his heart wasn’t in it. Iruka rubbed Naruto’s arm comfortingly and turned his attention back to Kakashi. “You’d better get going then, sensei. Familiar faces can only be good for him after what he’s been through.”

“We better had,” Kakashi agreed. He took one last swallow of his drink before digging into his pocket for his wallet. He threw a few bills on the table, enough to cover both drinks and the tip, and stood up to follow his student. “Coffee’s on me. I’ll see you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei.”

And with that, Kakashi went to visit his hospitalized student.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Kakashi closed the door to his apartment, leaned back against it and slowly slid to the floor. For the first time since he’d woken up that morning, Kakashi took a moment to process what was happening to him. Everything had felt disconnected from him, somehow. His life suddenly seemed not his own. Kakashi was being put under 24-hour suicide watch, basically, and with that, it meant losing a little bit of freedom, a little bit of privacy. He’d have a babysitter and nowhere he could breathe. The clutching in his throat reminded him of Sasuke, his panic when a nurse had moved too quickly too close to his injured body. His eyes, blank and numb the moment before, looked how the clutching felt. Sasuke was only 16; his eyes shouldn’t look that old already.

Kakashi dug his palms against his eye sockets and forced himself to breathe through it. Only felt like he was choking – he wasn’t actually dying. Time passed, but Kakashi couldn’t have said for certain how much time. Focusing on getting air into his lungs and trying not to feel ate up too much of his attention. When he finally became aware of his easy breathing and his aching eyes, he decided he should probably do something. Kakashi pulled himself unsteadily up the door and double-checked the gear he was carrying. He needed a walk, maybe some food. Packing could happen just as easily later as now. He’d walk and think, or eat and think, maybe talk to his sensei and Obito. He needed someone to hear him.


	4. Size Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration: Size Matters- Natasha Bedingfeild

That had gone better than expected, Iruka thought. Kakashi was well within his rights to be upset at the entire situation, but he’d shown up on time, calmly discussed his options and very skillfully had hidden behind irreverent casualness. There were thousands of ways that the little meeting could have gone, and what had happened was not one of the outcomes Iruka had been expecting. The Chunnin had expected Kakashi and him to argue, possibly loudly, before finally arriving at the conclusion that they had after just a few minutes. Any irritation that may have been a result of having to be in this position in the first place had bled out of Iruka after seeing Kakashi for the first time.

The man looked fucking exhausted, dressed in civvies. Somehow, his presence had seemed less powerful, more defeated. Given, Kakashi usually looked as if he could doze off at any given moment, but this was a different kind of tired. Iruka had briefly felt the overwhelming urge to get up and hug the man but thought better after remembering who he was meeting. Iruka sighed and leaned back in his chair. No wonder Tsunade was worried. Iruka was, and Iruka had a hard time getting along with Kakashi.

Then there was the bow before he had left. Iruka didn’t think that the other man had ever been so formal with him before. Iruka had been taking in Kakashi’s mission reports for years now, and never once had Kakashi treated anyone of lower rank to a bow before leaving. In fact, he knew most of the other chunnin on desk duty despised the man and sometimes wished he wouldn’t come back, just so they didn’t have to deal with his complete disregard. Kakashi was never overtly rude, but the state of his mission reports left much to be desired. Like punctuation, clearer handwriting, maybe less waterlogged next time, Hatake-san. Iruka could readily admit it often made him feel like he’d been dismissed before he’d ever really gotten the jonin’s attention. Iruka knew most jonin were that way, though.

Kakashi also didn’t seem like the type to go and visit his students in the hospital. Hatake Kakashi was known to be difficult to work with, a brilliant asshole. Often insubordinate, and it was well known after the age of 13, when he’d made jonin, that he’d had an increasingly solo career.

Iruka finally sighed and decided not to worry over it too much. Maybe the man did have a sense of decency in him, maybe he did really care, maybe it was just an excuse to get away from an awkward meeting. Whichever the reason, Iruka decided he wouldn’t figure it out just yet. He was going to head home. He had cleaning to do after all. Iruka reached for his wallet before remembering Kakashi had already paid. What a gentleman.

The journey to the school teacher’s house was punctuated by light conversations with various familiar faces, and after how tense he’d been leaving for the meeting with Kakashi, it was incredibly relaxing. The beautiful weather of the day was not lost on Iruka, and he enjoyed the sun. Sure, there was a lot of sun in Konoha, but they had just gotten over their rainy season. What rain they got came fast and hard and long. After a month or two, a person began to wonder if the sun still existed. Iruka felt perfectly content walking through the bustle of the open market in this weather.

The kiosks’ business was in full swing by now and tourists and traders clogged the streets, making passage difficult. Iruka considered breaking for the rooftops, but ultimately decided against it. He didn’t feel much of a need to hurry one way or the other. The leisurely pace seemed to have affected most of the population of the village as traffic didn’t seem to be moving particularly quickly. Iruka soon fell into the common tourists’ habits; stop, look, watch the locals, window shop, and consider buying random objects from the roadside venders. It had been awhile since he’d had time to do this.

Iruka did eventually make it home, and he closed his door behind him with a sigh. With a mental shake, he snapped a professional mindset into place and took stock of the chores he’d need to do before the arrival of his houseguest. The living room needed to be cleaned; he couldn’t really find the couch under all of the paperwork and throw blankets and pillows. Kitchen was fine; neat and tidy, everything in it place, the dishes had been washed and put away, the floors swept. Bathroom could probably stand to be touched. Guest room was fine, except he’d likely have to change the linens. His own bedroom wouldn’t be Kakashi’s concern, so he didn’t worry about the state of chaos he knew he would find.

Iruka checked all of this in his mental list on his way through the small but comfortable house. He paused at the guest room and smiled. There were still touches of orange around the room; a blanket, a jacket on top of a pile of spare clothes, the closet door. Naruto still lived here occasionally and he left his mark wherever he went. If Kakashi didn’t like orange, he could sleep on the couch…when Iruka got around to cleaning it off. Iruka closed the door and moved on, eventually ending up in his bathroom with his head under the sink. He had to get cleaners for what needed them; mostly glass cleaners for the large picture windows in the living and dining room.

The Chunnin then made his way to the living room. He’d start there. Papers were removed from the couch, blankets were folded and put in their places on the bookshelves to the back of the room, pillows were put on the pieces of furniture that they belonged on and what little dishes there were quickly moved to the sink one room over. Next, he broke out the broom and waged war on the dust devils that had formed in the corners and under his furniture. Iruka wasn’t really sure where all the dirt and hair had come from, and there sure was a lot of it. Maybe he needed to sweep more regularly.

What had once been a maze of papers and blankets and pillows and cups and DVD cases was now a homey room with beige walls, a tan leather couch and two brown armchairs that were really more like small couches in themselves. A polished red wood coffee table sat demurely in the center of the room with all of the stains made by various and sundry liquids worn proudly on its surface like a collection of battle scars. The fire place hadn’t been used in a while, but it added to the overall effect. The glass of the large picture windows didn’t look like it was there at all; the windows had been wiped free of Naruto’s fingerprints, which had accumulated over years and Iruka had somehow never noticed. The bookshelves had been straightened and the movies were all in the proper cases and places. The CDs were in their rack.

Living room: check.

Next, Iruka moved on to the bathroom. It really didn’t need anything other than a light touch up. The sink needed to be washed, the toilet needed to be cleaned, shampoo arranged neatly on the shelf, medicine cabinet organized, magazine case arranged. It really didn’t take long at all; 15 minutes tops.

Then Iruka moved to the kitchen to wash the few dishes that had moved from the living room to the kitchen sink. That took a grand total of five minutes, including drying them and putting them away.

After putting Naruto’s spare clothes into the dresser and changing the sheets and blanket on the bed, Iruka had nothing to do; no rooms to clean, no papers to grade, no worksheets to plan, no lessons to write up. Realizing how little he did outside of work was strangely unmooring. Until he’d actually had time to himself, Iruka had never really realized how little he was able to do the things he’d enjoyed back when he had time to himself. After a few futile moments of puttering around in the hopes of noticing something productive he could be doing, he finally gave up. He really had some time to do nothing.

At loose ends, Iruka went over to the bookshelves and perused the multitude of books that he owned and used to make Naruto read, but he found he couldn’t remember half of the titles, much less the content. Two bookshelves later and he came across a book series that he had no memory of buying. It looked like fantasy, the kind with elves and dragons. Fantasy was Naruto’s favorite genre, so the kid had likely gone out and bought it. Having never really enjoyed fantasy before, Iruka was surprised to discover that he was curious about it. By the state of the bindings, either Naruto had bought them used, or this was a favorite. With a shrug – not like he had anything else to be doing right now – Iruka moved slowly over to one of his recliners and sat down, making himself comfortable before opening the book to the prologue.

When Iruka next became aware of himself, he found he was sitting in a steadily darkening living room, straining to see the 10 pt font on the page. The digital clock on the stove in the kitchen read 8:27 pm. He’d been reading for a good four hours, and he was tired. When was the last time he’d done that? It was always surprising to him how reading for prolonged periods of time could exhaust a body. Given, he’d also given the house a quick but thorough cleaning before… but he was a ninja, and he should not be this sore from doing that.

His stomach growled loudly, so Iruka closed his book and decided to give dinner a go. It was later than usual, but he had nowhere to be in the morning. He decided on something quick, but filling and took his time eating it, flipping idly through the book as he did so. When he was finished, Iruka decided he was going to go to bed early. After a day of luxurious free time, this was just another indulgence. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Maybe today had been more exhausting than he had realized.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Iruka woke up at 10:14 am. The surge of adrenaline woke him better than any cup of coffee could. His students would be all over the place. The academy might not even still be standing. Other teachers would have to be balancing his class and their own class. He darted out of his bed and was halfway changed into his uniform before he quite realized what he was doing. What had happened? Had his power gone out? Lack of blinking on the clock’s display. Nope power was fine. Had he gotten the time right? Iruka checked as he buckled up his tactical vest. Yes, but it wasn’t turned on. Why wasn’t it turned on? Today was a weekday and he had school to teach and the Missions’ Room to sit in and- Ohhhh…right. Mission. He had to babysit Kakashi.

Iruka slumped down onto his bed. Fuck, what a wake up. He scrubbed his face and sighed in relief. People usually felt relief after they realized they had been given the day off and weren’t going to be late for work. This reaction seemed ridiculous to him, though. Babysitting an adult, not 20 pre-genin.

Iruka let his hands drop to his lap. Now that he was dressed, he figured he should make sure he had enough food for having a guest in his home. First, though, he was going to change into something more comfortable. If he didn’t need to wear his uniform, then he’d wear the civvies he rarely had a chance to break out. Looking at himself in the mirror was a surreal experience; did he look so young to everyone else? Or was it just the civvies? Feeling strangely self-conscious, Iruka pulled his hair up into a loose ponytail and felt more like himself. Going through an abbreviated version of his morning routine helped to shake the nerves from waking up and the melancholy brought on by his appearance. With a quick pat down to make sure he had his wallet, Iruka left his apartment for the fresh market.

The sooner he was done shopping, the sooner he could get them put away, so he could wait for his new roommate to arrive and worry about all the ways this could possibly go wrong. As a teacher, he was really good at worrying.


	5. The Sharpest Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration: The Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance

Dawn found Kakashi sitting on the roof of the jonin apartments. The colors were fantastic, the air was just chilled enough to make sitting for prolonged periods of time uncomfortable, and even though he hadn’t slept that night, he couldn’t bring himself to go inside to try. He knew that if Tsunade or any other self-respecting medic knew, he’d get a lecture about chakra reserves and how chakra healing could only do so much for his body. Blah blah blah. Whatever. He knew his own limits. As it stood, Kakashi was grounded until his mental health was properly assessed. It wasn’t like he needed to be full strength, so he could go out on another mission.

It rankled, especially because he knew how short the village was on active duty shinobi. Orochimaru’s attack two and a half years ago had decimated Konoha’s ranks, and numbers still were low, made even lower when you considered a third of them were wounded at any given time. Kakashi didn’t really understand why his mental health took priority to the well-being of the village. So what if he broke, as long as it was in service to his Hokage and village?

Kakashi sighed. Whatever.

Once the sun was fully up, the sounds of an active village picked up and Kakashi knew he should probably start packing. Iruka-sensei would be expecting him to arrive this afternoon. He stood up, and instead of taking the stairs down to his floor, he dropped down the side and landed a foot to the right of his own window. This way was faster. A quick spark of chakra disarmed the traps on his window and he stepped inside onto his bed. Pakkun had been curled up, probably asleep, on Kakashi’s pillow, but jumped up with surprising enthusiasm when Kakashi dropped onto his bed.

“Where’d you go?” Pakkun demanded as he climbed into his human’s lap. “When I came back here, you were gone.”

“You’re a tracker, are you not?” Kakashi petted Pakkun’s head gently, carefully, just as he always had, even though this dog was a shinobi. “You could have come to find me.”

The little pug snorted and shook himself. Kakashi could tell he was disgruntled, maybe a little angry. “And you’re a grumpy, elite ninja-human who would have just sent me back! Because you’re rude!”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Pakkun. I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

Rock, meet hard place. Kakashi decided that arguing with a dog was beneath him and removed himself to the other side of the room where he stored his clothes and kept his laundry bag. Might as well get started.

“Has anyone ever told you that you act like a pup?” Pakkun snorted a pug snort, and Kakashi knew that if he’d been human, he would have stomped his foot.

“Maa, someone may have mentioned it once, but I can’t remember,” Kakashi replied, but then he realized he was still arguing with a dog. When had he started doing that? He pulled out a sealing scroll and began putting clothes and laundry bag on top of it. Scrolls were so much easier than boxes. At times like this, he was glad he was a ninja with a special talent for seals.

“Well, you’re like, 5,” Pakkun pushed on.

“I’m clearly five and a half, dog,” Kakashi shot back before thinking. Dammit. He was trying not to engage. Kakashi yawned and looked over at the smug pug. Snug smug pug wrapped in a rug.

Maybe he needed coffee. Second dammit. He’d forgotten to get a new coffee maker. Kakashi sighed and leaned back against the wall. He’d have to go out in public in the same clothes as yesterday. Or maybe he could just sleep? He had to at least finish packing. Then maybe he’d nap before he invaded Iruka-sensei’s home, get coffee on the way there. Another yawn watered his eyes, so Kakashi finished his packing quickly.

It was only when he’d finished getting all of his gear together that he realized exactly how few possessions he had to his name. Clothes, armor, books, and three medium-sized, custom-made weapons’ chests, one of which stored scroll-writing equipment and the more paper-based things in a ninja’s arsenal. Everything sealed into two scrolls. There was his dresser and bed, his kitchen utensils, but he’d be leaving those here. He wasn’t giving up his lease just because people thought he needed to be supervised for a while.

Pakkun sneezed. “Stop smelling so bitter, pup.”

“Well, I am bitter.”

The dog made a disbelieving sound that Kakashi chose to ignore. Why had he ever thought that teaching his summons to talk would be a good thing? All he got from Pakkun was sass.

After a final check through his apartment to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, Kakashi put his two scrolls on the window sill next to Mister Ukki, who he’d have to take as well, and collapsed into his bed. He didn’t even bother taking off his clothes. It was just a nap.

“Pakkun, wake me in four hours, if I’m not up already.”

And then, like a good soldier, he was unconscious.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

It was 3 before Kakashi actually made it to Iruka’s. Pakkun had dutifully woken Kakashi at the appointed time, and they both had left the apartment, scrolls shoved into Kakashi’s pockets and Mister Ukki tucked under his arm. Even though Kakashi wasn’t going to be living there for the foreseeable future, he’d taken the time to reset his wards before they’d left. To be completely honest, Kakashi felt more self-conscious than he thought he ever had before as he walked through the village. For the most part, he knew he was likely to be written off as another of those crazy jonin, but there was something strangely emasculating about carrying around a plant.

Kakashi knew he hid it well, because he was good at hiding things, but on the inside, he was squirming. Mister Ukki had better appreciate this.

When he got to the right area of town, Kakashi started paying more attention to what his nose was telling him. He could see Pakkun doing the same. Kakashi was glad that he had such a good sense of smell, because he soon picked up Iruka’s scent and started following it away from the coffee shop. In his distraction yesterday, he’d forgotten to get an address. Dog and human came to a crossroads and the scent spilt, but Kakashi knew which way led to the Academy and chose the opposite direction.

The scent led him all the way to the front door of a comfortable-looking house built in the traditional style. This area had been heavily affected by Kyuubi and then by Orochimaru, and the jonin could tell that it was relatively new, compared to the houses in the clan district. Still, it somehow managed to radiate an air of permanence. Seeing it made Kakashi uncomfortable and took him back to places he’d rather not go. After a moment of hesitation – snap out of it Hatake, you idiot, it’s a house, not a battle field – Kakashi knocked on the door.

The door opened and an angry looking Iruka stood on the other side. Kakashi glanced away from the teacher and looked at the sun’s position. Was he late? No. The sun said it was 3ish. He looked back at Iruka.

“I’m not late,” Kakashi preemptively defended himself.

“Oh, no, it’s not you. I’m sorry, Kakashi-sensei,” Iruka held up a book. “I was reading and got surprisingly invested in the story. Do come in.”

Kakashi hesitated. Iruka had yet to move out of the doorway. Kakashi felt like bouncing on his toes but refrained because he was an adult and not one of Iruka’s students. Plus, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Are you sure?” he finally asked.

Iruka just looked confused. “Yes?”

Kakashi stared some more. Pakkun decided it was time to break the standoff and walked through the gap between Iruka’s legs and the doorframe.

Kakashi decided that maybe Iruka wasn’t aware of what he was doing, and without really thinking, words came out of his mouth. “Am I sleeping on the porch or do I get to come inside?”

“OH!” Iruka blushed and almost tripped in his haste to get out of the way. “I am so sorry.”

“Maa, it’s no problem, Iruka-sensei,” Kakashi said automatically, switching from acerbic to polite as he stepped over the threshold. It was easier than noticing how interested he was in seeing Iruka blush. It was the same spark of interest he’d smothered back when Iruka had yelled at him in public for nominating his students for the Chunnin exam. Better for everyone if he ignored it.

Kakashi toed off his shoes and lined them up carefully against the wall where Iruka’s shoes were and looked around the house. Iruka was either a neat freak or he had cleaned his house extremely well before Kakashi had arrived.

“Where can I put my plant?”

“Front window!” Iruka replied enthusiastically and gestured to the large windows dominating the south-facing wall. Perfect for plants, not so great for defense. Odd in a predominantly military village. Having so much on view made Kakashi’s teeth itch. At least there were curtains.

“Ok, tour time,” Iruka clapped and Kakashi jumped. Man, he hoped Iruka hadn’t noticed. The copy ninja quickly set Mister Ukki in the center of the window sill and turned to follow his host.

“Kitchen, living room, dining room,” Iruka gestured to each as they passed and led the man down the hall, “bathroom, guest room, my room. Naruto used to use the guest room, and still does periodically, so the closet door’s orange. I’m warning you so you’re not blinded as soon as you walk in the room. If you don’t like it in there, you can sleep on the couch. It’s comfortable enough.”

“Thanks,” Kakashi said and looked through the guest room door, gaze flicking around. Sure enough, the closet door was offensively orange. Naruto’s favorite color. The walls themselves were a neutral tan, where they weren’t plastered over by movie posters and diagrams of chakra pathways. The dresser and the short shelf were dark blue. Bed was a double, comforter a dark brown, matching the dark wooden frame. Then his gaze landed on the window – good sized, west facing, possible entry and exit point. He’d easily be able to defend that.

“I hadn’t realized how permanent a place Naruto has with you,” Kakashi said, after he’d gotten his defense plans tucked back where they belonged, “to let him start decorating your rooms.”

Kakashi was aware of Iruka, but he was on Kakashi’s blind side, so he had to turn to see the teacher. Iruka looked slightly offended and said, “Of course! You’ve seen where they put him!”

Kakashi had. It was a dump. He ceded the point to Iruka. When Kakashi nodded his agreement, Iruka relaxed, and Kakashi found himself glad to see it. He really was very fond of Naruto and had not meant to offend his host. Kakashi just knew that if Naruto had started painting his walls such a ridiculous color, he’d be upset. After a beat, Kakashi turned back to look at the orange closet door.

“May I?” Kakashi gestured to the room.

“Oh, of course. Make yourself comfortable.” Iruka waved Kakashi forward. Then he switched topics. “I’ll be thinking about dinner soon, so if you have any requests, I’ll hear them now.”

Kakashi had already started into the room, so he ‘hmm’ed and acknowledgement and heard Iruka walking back down the hall. The click of Pakkun’s nails followed him.

Pakkun started speaking and Iruka responded. Great, they were bonding. Kakashi turned back to the room and pulled out his scrolls. He may as well unpack. He pulled out his weapons’ chests first, glad there was enough room to put them all out. Kakashi felt better with weapons in easily accessible places. Next, his books came out. He looked at the shelf and saw that it was mostly empty, so he put them on it. His pictures went on top.

Last came the clothes. First, Kakashi checked the dresser, as that seemed the logical place to start. The first two drawers were occupied by what appeared to be Naruto’s clothes, but the bottom three were empty. Kakashi put what clean clothes he had into the first one, then turned to regard his laundry bag. Did Iruka have a washer in home or would he have to go to the laundromat? That could wait a few minutes.

Kakashi checked the closet. The upper shelves were occupied, but the rest was usable. Kakashi went back to clothing and pulled out his bundle of ANBU armor. That’d go in the closet, along with his flak jackets, when he got them clean. And that was him unpacked, a whole life in 15 minutes.

Kakashi picked up the now empty scrolls off the floor and rolled them up for reuse. Then he went out to the living area to find his host. Iruka was in the kitchen, Pakkun sitting on his shoulder.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Yeah?” Iruka didn’t turn around, intent on the vegetables he was chopping.

“I was wondering if you had a washer in-house?”

“I do! Sorry!” Iruka quickly put down his knife and rinsed his fingers before turning to Kakashi. Pakkun stayed put through it all and it seemed to Kakashi that the teacher had even forgotten the pug was there. “I’ll show you.”

Iruka led the way back down the hall to the hall closet next to the bathroom. Kakashi had assumed it was the linen cupboard, but when Iruka opened the door, he saw a stacked washer and drier. “They can’t do huge loads, and you have to use this magnet to keep the drier shut so it will do its job, but they get things clean. Soap,” Iruka reached in and to the right of the door, pulled out a jar of homemade detergent, “is here. Two scoops. If you notice it running low, let me know, so I can refill it.”

With that, Iruka put the jar back on what Kakashi assumed was a shelf and bustled back to the kitchen. As soon as Iruka was out of sight, Kakashi grabbed the jar and sniffed warily at the detergent. Relaxed when he only smelled the ingredients for soap. There was no added scent, which Kakashi’s tracker instinct approved of. He couldn’t stand scented detergent. Kakashi started a load of laundry and then went to the living room to wait.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Dinner was a tense affair. Pakkun had decided to head back to his plane to assure the pack Kakashi was fine, so it was just Kakashi and Iruka sitting across from each other, doing their best to pretend this was entirely normal. When Kakashi had scarfed his food down before his dinner partner could see his face, his usual sleight of hand trick, Iruka had yelled at him for his poor table manners. Given that Kakashi hadn’t even dropped a grain of rice, he was unsure of what he’d done that was so offensive. After dinner came the cleaning up. Kakashi didn’t like the cleaning up. The tense silence was only broken by Iruka pointing out where the dishes went as Kakashi finished drying them. Kakashi couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had his hackles up about this activity – there were so many reasons to be uncomfortable right now – but he was glad when they were done.

Not that after dinner was much better on the awkwardness scale. They’d sort of decided together to go to the living room and at least sit in the same room as each other, but Kakashi was used to solitude. Dogs and humans had different breathing cadences, different scents, different heartbeat rates. Pretending he was with a member of his pack wasn’t working.

“Do you want to talk?” Iruka’s voice almost made Kakashi jump, and he realized he’d been staring out the front window.

“Not really,” he said after a beat.

“I wouldn’t want to either.”

Kakashi turned to look at Iruka, curled up in one of the huge armchairs. He was watching Kakashi with an expression the older ninja wasn’t quite sure how to place. It had been awhile since he’d seen it on anyone looking at himself. Something in his own body language must have seemed approachable because Iruka continued.

“I’m sorry your life’s been so disrupted. It can’t be comfortable.”

Kakashi sighed. “It really isn’t. I’ll survive.”

Iruka smiled a little - were his eyes actually sad or was Kakashi seeing things? - and said, “I’m sure you will.”

What was that supposed to mean? Uncomfortable, Kakashi changed the subject.

“What are your home defenses?”

Iruka didn’t seem to be surprised at the clumsy segue. “Standard wards, non-standard traps.” The smirk on Iruka’s face was downright devious. “You are welcome to add any that make you feel more comfortable. We should probably key your chakra in so you can do that.”

With that done, Kakashi could feel the true extent of Iruka’s wardwork, and found he had very little to add to the general house. The guestroom he would be sleeping in was a different story. He’d fix those before he went to bed. Having seen the extent of the protection of the house relaxed Kakashi, and the itching on the back of his neck lessened. He was able to focus on reading instead of how odd another human’s breathing sounded while he was within village limits.

Eventually the two men decided to call it a night. Kakashi made his way to the room that he’d be calling home for the foreseeable future and went about updating the wards. When that was done, he took off his pants but kept the t-shirt, put on a pair of soft training pants to sleep in, then he turned off the lights. He crawled into the bed and took a few seconds to appreciate being horizontal. It was a comfortable bed, but it wasn’t his bed, nor was the room his room.

Despite his lack of sleep the night before, and only snatches of sleep since, Kakashi couldn’t relax enough to really sleep. The scent was wrong. Every pop of the plumbing and every creak of a floor board would make him snap his eyes open on full alert before he realized that there was no threat. He passed the night as he would on a mission, cat naps between moments when he would scan his surroundings. Kakashi had probably passed more uncomfortable nights, but he couldn't remember them right now.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm moving my stories slowly but surely to AO3 from my FF.Net account. This story is completed and posted with the same title under Masked-Writer-In-Disguise. However, as I went through this story, I noticed mistakes and plot holes so know that I Have Edited. There may even be additional chapters. We'll see!
> 
>  EDIT: I'm basically rewriting. Editing was not enough.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


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